


Not Settling Down (Not Really)

by lookinginthelight



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Marriage Proposal, Pete's World, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-04
Updated: 2014-01-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 09:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1118325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookinginthelight/pseuds/lookinginthelight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor decides to take Rose back to Bad Wolf Bay to ask her to marry him- is it worth the risk?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Settling Down (Not Really)

**Author's Note:**

> ALSO for the propose-a-thon

The Doctor studied his reflection in the mirror as he worked gel into his hair. He squinted and watched wrinkles spread out from the side of his eyes. He traced them with one of his fingers.

 

Aging.  _Human._  He shivered. He still hadn't gotten used to it.

It had been over two years since coming to this universe to live his now-shortened life. It hadn’t taken long to adjust to his human body, but life without the TARDIS wasn’t as easy to get used to. He gave his hair one last tease before he walked out of the bathroom.

"Morning." Rose smiled at him from the kitchen table.

"Good morning!" The Doctor bent down and kissed Rose’s forehead. He poured himself his tea and walked towards where she was sitting. She was practically the only thing he liked about this universe. He found human life particularly boring and strange, but she made it okay. She'd taught him all the things he needed to know to fit in. He still stood out a great deal, but he'd always thought she liked that about him.

The Doctor sat down and glanced over at the paper Rose was reading. No interesting headlines. He let his eyes wander around their flat, resting on pictures of the two of them together. He smiled at the one from their first real date- she'd taken him to a park she'd grown to love when she was stuck without him. Dates. That was something he liked about being human. Humans liked to schedule time with the people they loved. They weren't too big on just whisking someone away at a moment's notice (which he  _still_  didn't understand). It was really just an experiment when he’d first said the world  _girlfriend_. With all they'd been though, he thought it extremely unnecessary. Rose had still beamed at him and kissed him until he had to catch his breath.

"What's a unit of work?" Rose interrupted his memories.

"What?" He'd only caught the tail end of her sentence.

"A unit of work? For the crossword."

"Oh! Um, a joule." He looked over his mug to see Rose focused on the paper. He always found it so alluring when she looked deep in thought.

"How do you spell it?" She still hadn't looked up from the paper.

"J-O-U-L-E. Joule."

"No." She frowned. "It's three letters."

"Well, that's weird." Several different ways of measuring work ran through the Doctor's head but he assumed Rose wasn't one for a physics lesson over breakfast. He stood up and put on his coat.

"Rose, I've got to go. I'll see you tonight?"

"Mmm-hmm." Rose was still transfixed on the newspaper.

The Doctor walked out the door, smiling to himself. He was glad she was distracted this morning. He'd been planning his surprise for some time now, and found it easier to hide his excitement.

\--

The Doctor had been planning this for six months. Since he typically made up everything as he went along, this was new. The planning began when their TARDIS coral had been showing some growth. He’d discovered, almost by accident, that returning the coral to Bad Wolf Bay made it grow more quickly. Since it reached maturity, he’d tested it a few times: never travelling more than 100 years, and never leaving Earth, but he was confident.

The Doctor shared his success with Pete and Jackie, but kept it a secret from Rose. They were in on this too, and he was glad to have their help. It was practically necessary, since he’d asked them if he could marry their daughter. They both laughed at him, shocked at the fact that he’d thought to ask and that he was willing to settle down.

“Oh, we won’t be settling down!” he’d told them with pride, as he explained the new TARDIS.

It took convincing from the Doctor and Jackie before Rose took time off work, but eventually she’d agreed. She was hesitant, asking where they would be going, and for how long.

“It’s a surprise!” the Doctor insisted, telling her to pack lightly- warm clothes for one day.

The Doctor was nervous for  _multiple_ reasons. He knew she wouldn’t be excited to see that beach again, but he thought it would be worth it. As they boarded the zeppelin scheduled to take them to Norway, the Doctor wrapped his fingers around the box in his pocket.

\--

The Doctor opened Rose’s car door and took her trembling hand. He’d tried to calm her down as soon as she figured out they were returning to Bad Wolf Bay. It hadn’t taken her long. As soon as they left the zeppelin, she had noticed the familiar surroundings. They’d both called it  _the beach_ , but there was no question as to which beach they were referring.

“Rose, I know this hurts, but it  _happened_. We need to be able to acknowledge that, okay?” The Doctor pulled Rose gently out of the car and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Trust me.”

Rose nodded into his chest.

“Okay.” The Doctor kept his voice as calm as he could manage. “C’mon. I want to show you something.”

The Doctor took Rose’s hand and led her towards the water. He swung his head back and forth as if looking for a particular landmark. He stopped suddenly, as if he’d found it, and stepped back from Rose.

“Alright. Tell me the first thing you remember about this place. Sequentially.”

Rose looked as if she didn’t want to comply, but answered in a quiet voice. “I remember coming out here to meet you- I thought you were coming to get me.”

The Doctor’s eyes grew wide. He’d never thought about it that way before.

“Rose, if I’d been able to take you back with me, I…” The Doctor’s voice broke. “I would have.” He closed his eyes and steadied himself. “But here’s the first thing I remember. I searched for a way to get to you, but all I found was that little hole. So I travelled all that way, I used up the energy from a dying star just to see you.” He walked backwards and pulled Rose with him, stopping after a few steps.

“Alright, still basically the same spot, but what’s next?”

“You…” Rose, not to his surprise, still looked sad. “You faded away while we were still talking.”

The Doctor had seen this response coming. “Yes, but here’s what I remember.  _You told me you loved me_.” Rose looked up at the excitement in the Doctor’s voice. “Rose, I’d sent you away, was upset with you when you came back, lost you again… _and_ you’d just found out that I wasn’t taking you with me!” He smiled. “And you  _still_  loved me.”Rose was beginning to smile as well.

“Next!” The Doctor led Rose up the beach, turning suddenly. “Now let’s jump forward a few years. Try to think of something happy.”

“I’m not sure what’s first.”

“Here’s a hint.” He took Rose’s hand and held it against his chest.

“You told me you were human.”

“ _And?_ ”

“And you wanted to spend your life with me.”

The Doctor grabbed Rose’s hand from his chest and kissed it. “Yes. And I still do.” He pulled her a couple steps to her right. “Next one’s free- you asked me how that sentence was supposed to end, then what?”

The tears had completely left Rose’s eyes now. “You said ‘I love you.’” She stepped towards the Doctor.

He let his hands fall to her waist. “Then what?”

Rose laughed as she wrapped her fingers under his lapels. “Hmm, I can’t remember what happened after that.” She pushed herself up on her toes and kissed him. “Something like that?”

“ _Welllll_ , what I remember was _much_  better but that’ll do. One more.” He walked a few steps forward, expecting Rose to be confused. He was beginning to brace himself when she surprised him.

“You took my hand.”

“What?” The Doctor looked up in surprise.

“Even after I ran after the TARDIS and the um,  _other_  Doctor, you still came and took my hand.”

“Oh.” He was taken aback that that simple motion meant so much to Rose. He paused and steadied himself again. “I was wrong.  _Now_  one more.”

“Wait. What’ve I missed?”

This was the moment the Doctor had been preparing himself for for weeks. He’d wanted to practice what he was going to say, but he could never get the words right. This was the only thing he hadn’t planned.

“Rose, you are incredible. You have, in every way I can think of, changed my life. Before I met you, I was arrogant and stubborn and alone.  _Well_ , okay, now I’m just arrogant and stubborn, but you know what I mean.” He laughed. Rose seemed to be aware that he was making a speech, so she didn’t say anything. “You made me better. I know you’ve heard that before, but you  _really did_ make me better. You make this life not only bearable but  _enjoyable_  and I get to spend it right next to you.”

He took a deep breath in. He’d practiced the timing several times- kneeling and successfully getting that little box out of his pocket, but he was still nervous.

“You said you were never gonna leave me, and I should’ve believed you. It didn’t seem possible then.”

He took Rose’s hand in one of his and dropped to his knee. In one swift motion, he pulled the ring box out of his pocket and flipped it open. Rose’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

“Rose Tyler…” The Doctor smiled just at saying her name. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Rose nodded wildly, unable to find her voice. She pulled him up from his knee and flung her arms around his neck. The Doctor’s arms flew around her waist and he lifted her off the ground. Through tears, she found his lips, but only for a second.

“So, is that a yes, then?” he asked, lowering Rose to the ground.

Rose was beaming up at him, her arms still around his neck. “Shut up.”

The Doctor laughed, and managed to slip the ring on her finger with shaking hands.

“It’s  _beautiful._ ”

“It’s from the thirties,” the Doctor said with a grin. “I’ve got one more thing to show you.”

“What could you possibly…?” Rose was still transfixed on her ring.

The Doctor stretched his hand out beside them as if searching for something. After a second, he flattened his hand like it was touching a wall, but Rose saw nothing pressing back against his palm. The Doctor smiled, balled his hand into a fist, and knocked. Though his hand hit nothing, Rose heard the distinct sound of knuckles hitting against wood.

The space in front of the Doctor’s hand began to turn blue. It faded slowly at first, but then quickly became opaque. Standing in front of them was unmistakably the TARDIS. Rose grabbed for the Doctor’s shoulder to steady herself. He put an arm around her waist and held her body to his. He grabbed the handle and turned towards Rose.

“It’s ready,” he whispered, and pushed open the doors.

\--

The doors swung back to reveal the familiar TARDIS interior, as well as about ten people. The Doctor had managed to secretly round up their friends with Jackie and Pete’s help. They walked in to applause and glasses of champagne.

They walked around and greeted their friends, accepting congratulations and exchanging hugs. Eventually, Rose and the Doctor made their way back to each other in the center of the console room.

“I thought these took thousands of years to grow.”

“Yeah, normally, but there’s apparently something special about this one. I ended up bringing it back here, and it grew more quickly. I’ve tested it out a few times, here and there. Seems perfectly fine.”

“Wait. Did you  _go_  to the thirties to get this ring?”

“Maybe. Is that alright?”

“It’s perfect. All of this is perfect.” Rose pulled the Doctor towards herself and kissed him - forgetting that they weren’t alone. The Doctor managed to set his empty glass on the console before pulling Rose’s body into the curve of his. Her fingers, as usual, tangled themselves in his hair and his lips pressed greedily back against her own. Rose had just opened her lips to his tongue when she heard someone whistle. She broke away from the Doctor as their friends began to clap and cheer. The Doctor, always the showman, dramatically dipped Rose backwards and kissed her again. After the cheer died down, he stood up straight, breathing heavily and muttering angrily about having human lungs.

They finally managed to tear themselves away from each other, and spread out to talk to their friends again. The Doctor busied himself showing Tony around the TARDIS but making sure they didn’t take off to the year 5 million, and Rose showed off her ring to anyone who would look at it. Eventually, the Doctor began taking everyone home, delighted to use the TARDIS to travel.

\--

Rose and the Doctor waved goodbye after dropping off Jackie, Pete, and Tony. They’d exchanged hugs after a sincere promise that Tony would get to see the TARDIS again. Rose walked back inside because it was cold, but the Doctor lingered. He ran his hand down the doors of the TARDIS- relishing the familiar feel under his fingers. When it was growing, the chameleon circuit worked perfectly, but he couldn’t imagine anything other than his police box. He smiled and opened the doors.

Rose was leaning against the console when he walked in. The Doctor walked slowly over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Rose giggled as he nuzzled his nose into her neck. He smiled at her, his eyes more alive than she’d seen them since finding him.

“ _Where to_?”


End file.
